08/11/2016
Head lice are parasitic wingless insects. They live on people's heads and feed on their blood. An adult is called a Louse and is between the size of a sesame seed to about the size of a sunflower seed. Lice eggs are called Nits and when visible to the naked eye are from the size of a poppy seed to about the size of a sesame seed- when laid they are firmly attached to a hair shaft, with a glue like substance from the louse and are often mistaken for dandruff. Lice and nits are easiest to detect by non trained technician, at the neckline and behind the ears- where they usually migrate to. Children ages 3-11 and their families get head lice most often. Girls get lice more often than boys and women more often than men. Personal hygiene has nothing to do with getting head lice. In fact, they prefer to lay their eggs in clean hair. They are spread extremely easily by direct contact. They cannot jump or fly from person to person and cannot spread from humans to pets and vice versa. However they can crawl at a high speed, making them hard to spot.
Lice can appear white, clear, grey or brown. They are clear when hatched then become reddish brown after feeding.
Lice can hold their breath under water for up to 2 hours. Lice and nits need to be emoved by hand, or combed out.
Nits cannot be killed with lice shampoo. Lice shampoos are pesticides, therefore only kill the live louse.
Some lice are resistant to over the counter shampoos.
It is the same concept of using an antibiotic frequently or not finishing the treatment- the bacteria build up a resistance to the antibiotic therapy. This is what has happened with lice. They are building a resistance to the pesticide scalp shampoos. These are dubbed "super lice" .
Because of super lice and factoring in a number of other considerations, I have formulated an all organic cold pressed treatment method.
Nits (lice eggs) are laid by live lice. Where a nit is, a louse once was. It would require a strand by strand check to know if the louse was gone. - if a louse is gone, it is highly likely to be on a family members head, your brush, clothing, etc.
Nits take 5-7 days to hatch.
A female louse will produce approximately 100 eggs in her lifetime.
Lice can live off the human head for 24-48 hours, because they need to feed off of the human blood produced with the bite. A nymph (newly hatched louse) can only live off the scalp for 35-45 minutes without its first feed/bite.
People can get head lice by:
Coming into close contact with an already infested person. In children, contact is common during play, riding the school bus, and classroom activities in which children sit in groups close to each other.
Wearing infested clothing, such as hats/helmets, scarves, coats, sports uniforms, or hair bands/ribbons.
Sharing combs, brushes, towels, or similar items.
Coming in contact with a bed, couch, pillow, carpet, car seat, or stuffed animal that has been contaminated. Air planes, movie theaters.
Head Lice Symptoms
Tickling feeling in the hair.
Frequent itching, especially at night.
Sores from scratching.
Small red rash at the nape of the neck - commonly referred to resembling the "stork bite" mark on a new born baby.
